As many of my readers will know, yesterday was the final deadline for the cathedral-licking bet. It was a date I had long feared, as back in September 2011 when Adam adjusted the terms it seemed like there would hardly be any time at all to finish this gargantuan and nerve-shredding task. What a great joy it is then to announce that on December 5th the last two cathedrals (those in Bangor and St. Asaph) were finally licked!!

Adam has been in touch and has gracefully conceded defeat, and word on his forfeit will be appearing on here soon! He should be very worried, unless he has somehow managed to raise a remote and obscure parish church to cathedral status, an achievement I would not put past him!

Obviously I am hugely relieved not to be in Adam’s shoes right now, but also a little sad that the adventure has come to an end. 2012 was truly the year of the lick and I was lucky enough to visit some incredibly beautiful and intriguing cathedrals over the last 12 months. I’ve also had the pleasure of meeting some truly wonderful people, many of whom have helped me along the way, so a huge thank you goes to them for their kindness and sense of humour.

The plan now is to turn this blog into a book, which will hopefully give a good account of the whole adventure, as well as an overview of the superb collection of cathedrals that we have in the United Kingdom. I never expected to get so hooked on these places when the bet began, but by visiting and exploring them I’ve gained a new-found passion that will be with me for life.

The blog itself is in need of a serious update, as there is still nothing on the last few licks in England and Northern Ireland, nor anything on the triumphant tour around Scotland. This will all be done after Christmas hopefully, but a more detailed account will appear in the book, of course.

So, although the adventure has come to and end there is still a lot more to come. But for now it is a simple case of basking in VICTORY!

Oh no! Read the whole blog…………..and now I will have to wait until the missing licks are posted for another fix. Well done Lawrence. We shall also want – no – demand proof of Adam’s forfeit now.
(BTW – did you feature in BBC2’s Wetminster Abbey series before Christmas giving a lady visitor directions to a conference?)

Really glad that you enjoyed reading the blog. I hope to fill in the gaps over the next few months, but I’ll be writing the book at the same time as well, so do look out for that!
I saw Adam recently and he has accepted his fate. The streak should be happening very soon, though I don’t think I’ll be putting footage of it on the internet. A cheeky photo might make it in though!
As for Westminster Abbey programme (which was excellent, I thought), no, I don’t think that was me. Around that time I was still working at the Jewel Tower though, right next to the Abbey. Was the scene at the Abbey itself?